The present invention relates to a method and a device for connecting an optical fibre with another optical component, for example another optical fibre.
Recently the use of optical transmission links for transferring information has substantially increased. Such optical transmission links consist of a transmitter, which converts an electric signal into an optical signal, a transmission line in the form of a fibre cable and a receiver which resets the optical signal into the original electrical signal.
A great advantage of the optical transmission links in relation to conventional transmission links resides in the small diameter and low weight of a fibre cable in relation to the diameter and the weight of a conventional electrical cable.
However, these properties also produce disadvantages, as the small diameter of the fibres brings about difficulties with regard to the necessary jointing of the fibres in an exact way. The joints provide losses which restrict the maximum transmission distance, and these losses are drastically increased if the fibres are radially or axially displaced or make an angle in relation to each other in the joints. For this reason there have recently been developed a large number of methods and devices for connecting optical components and especially optical fibres with each other so that the fibre ends are positioned exactly correct in relation to each other.
However, the methods and devices previously known have certain drawbacks by either being extremely complicated and expensive or by requiring a great skill. Any simple, cheap and easily performed methods and devices which comply with the required exactness of the position of the optical components in the joints are not previously known.